Cross River State earns World Bank Certification for Erosion Control

The Cross River State Government has received the World Bank Certification for the completion of eleven erosion control projects under the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project, NEWMAP.

The Commissioner, Ministry of International Development Corporation, Dr. Inyang Asibong, who spoke with Voice of Nigeria in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, south-south Nigeria, said that the certification was given after the World Bank team inspected the erosion control projects undertaken.

Asibong explained, “when a state embarks on any NEWMAP project like we did here in Cross River, the World Bank would send its verification team to confirm that the projects were properly executed. In Cross River we embarked on eleven erosion projects and completed them.

“So, the team came to check everything we did and confirm that all were according to the guidelines as given by the bank. When they checked, they were satisfied with the completed projects and that was why Cross River got the World Bank certification meaning that that particular activity has ended well and this does not come easy,” the Commissioner stated.

She explained that the eleven projects, which the state embarked on and completed were gully erosion site, drainages within Calabar metropolis, noting “for instance the Nyangasang erosion site had before intervention washed away property worth millions. But today the remaining houses are safe and the erosion project completed.”

Recently, a team from the Ministry of Environment led by the Director NEWMAP, Mrs. Theresa Adeboye, were in Cross River on an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) monitoring and evaluation exercise.

Adeboye explained to some newsmen that performing an EIA preceded the certification of any development project, noting “the survey report has shown that Cross River State is perfectly aligned with the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) and the project execution has been exceptional, thus earning them the certification.”

The monitoring team visited the eleven NEWMAP sites spread across the state including the Ikot Uduak erosion control area, Nyangasang and Ikot Nkebre expressing satisfaction on the quality of work done.